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“We all enjoy the eccentric”: Valentino’s hot pink is for everyone, according to Pierpaolo Piccioli.
The color of the season belongs to just one man: Pierpaolo Piccioli, whose hot pink hue has earned a Pantone shade of its own. Valentino’s Pink PP has become a phenomenon in its own right, due to its happiness-inducing properties for all who see it, as well as the fan club made up almost exclusively of celebrities. THE crème de la crème Hollywood, from Anne Hathaway to Glenn Close, has already enjoyed the boost confidence that Pink PP inspires, while supermodels, including Naomi Campbell and Gigi Hadid, have already given a real master class on how to use tonality successfully. But how does a color become viral? With a lot of research and a touch of magic, as Valentino’s creative director reveals.
“Pink PP is the result of a lot of research and a need; I just had to put all my hopes, dreams and basically everything that makes me feel good into one color,” Piccioli tells British Vogue. Her dialogue with Pantone was both very technical and extremely emotional, fueled by a desire to create a hue that communicated the Rosso (red) Valentino legacy from a modern perspective. When they finally arrived at the perfect pigment, it was “like being reborn.”
Piccioli chose pink for its multifaceted qualities. (In the same way that Valentino means something different to everyone.) “Pink can be delicate, sensual, hedonistic and irreverent,” explains the dedicated artist, whose chromatic combinations fill the hearts of everyone, including the most cynical fashion editors. “This hue shines when we dissociate it from all its cultural implications, such as its more traditional association with femininity or punk, or its original assignment to members of the clergy. Rosa has the possibility of being strong in an involuntary way; is the perfect metaphor for poetry: delicate and disruptive.”
THE catwalk Autumn/Winter 2022 monochrome show took place in a space painted a vibrant pink with Zendaya as the titular character in the front row — already a statement. “This monochromatic pink forces exploration of the human figure; it puts personality ahead of everything else,” explains Piccioli of the people who wear his pieces. “You don’t see gender, ethnicity, age: only the human being who is wearing monochromatic pink. Once our eyes are used to the color, the shape and sartorial details become clearer.”
Piccioli, a shape-shifter in the industry who is an advocate for diversity in the industry, both in ready-to-wear as in the hallowed halls of haute couture, he confesses that his tone, which is certainly not for the most sensitive, looks good on everyone, because it is intentionally eccentric, avowedly interesting and culturally independent. “We all enjoy the eccentric, which has nothing to do with the weird,” shares the designer. “Anyone looks good in this color because it simply illuminates the inner power of the person who wears it. That’s why I’ve always had pink pieces in all my collections. This time, contrary to any prediction, I dared to paint everything pink.”
The joy that Pink PP has brought to the fashion industry has not gone unnoticed. Like Valentino Red, a color that is already in the history of fashion, Piccioli’s pink will be referenced in a lasting future.
